This guy's been amazing in more movies and TV shows than you can count, and won a pair of Tony Awards for his skillful, searing performances in the classic American tragedies Death of a Salesman and Long Day's Journey Into Night. Now Brian Dennehy is reprising two of his most memorable and acclaimed stage roles in a powerful double bill. Dennehy first inhabits high-rolling gambler Erie, whose luck has turned with the death of his best friend Hughie. Next, Dennehy becomes Krapp, Beckett's self-absorbed leading man, who records a tape documenting his year each birthday. On his 69th, he gets caught up in listening to his archives and experiences a lifetime of regret. Dennehy won raves for his appearances in this pair of plays at the Goodman in Chicago, and now he's bringing the show to the intimate Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen in L.A.

"...Just when you think you understand the nature of his barreling blue-collar gifts, he turns around and surprises you with a delicate portrait of expiring gentility, as he did in his performance as the wistful, ailing Sorin in the recent film adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull.” His acting may be monochromatic, but it’s rarely dull. And attention must be paid to the intelligent ambition behind the talent"Read Full Review

Charles McNulty

LA Daily News - Somewhat Recommended

"...Two classic pieces of theatrical literature exploring our sense of self take the stage at Geffen Playhouse through mid-December. Eugene O'Neill's "Hughie" and Samuel Beckett's "Krapp's Last Tape" are well-paired to reflect the human need for communication, as the characters at their center in essence talk to themselves, although another voice appears onstage with them."Read Full Review

Dany Margolies

Broadway World - Recommended

"...Actor Brian Dennehy is a legendary interpreter of Eugene O'Neill's work, winning a Tony award for his volcanic Tyrone in "Long Day's Journey Into Night." If the two had ever met, no doubt the actor and author would have laughed, argued, brawled, and commiserated while drinking late into the night at some Irish bar on the Lower East Side. But since they were born in different ages, we can only experience their bond through the theatre when the magical connection between actor and writer is brought to life. The same is true with Irish playwright Samuel Beckett whose pathos and humor seem to be reflected in Dennehy's bones."Read Full Review

Shari Barrett

Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended

"...Dennehy’s worn-out Krapp is denuded of belief in anything except the sorrowful awareness that he’s spent a lifetime chasing the wrong dreams. Erie had the ear of his night-shift confessor, and the younger Krapp had the comforts of women whose love he took for granted. What does this solitary Krapp have in his final hours? Dennehy paints a heart-wrenching portrait of what it means to see — or more accurately, hear — oneself as one truly is."Read Full Review

Tony Frankel

Total Theater - Recommended

"...I wasn't bored by Krapp's Last Tape, but neither was I deeply moved by it. Having seen it at least half a dozen times may explain my alienation from it. Or maybe it is Dennehy's fault. He is believable as the old man looking back, with the help of his reel-to-reel tape recorder, on his failed life. Dennehy does sadness and anger well, but he doesn't have great clowning skills. And since Krapp is as much a vaudeville turn as a serious play, it left me wanting."Read Full Review

Willard Manus

Stage Raw - Highly Recommended

"...Here, Dennehy depicts a narcissistic blowhard mourning a friendship dearer to him than he’s prepared to admit. While Krapp curls inward, Erie is a flamboyant trumpeter: his capacity for self-delusion is prodigious (which is the aspect of the work that keeps it timely). Dennehy displays the same level of professional skill in both roles, but physically he’s a better fit for the elderly Krapp, and the play correspondingly lands with more of a punch."Read Full Review